Animal virus spotlight on farmers

Rumours but no evidence of deliberate infection of sheep and cattle

By CNN's Avril Stephens

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British government's hope of eradicating foot-and-mouth disease suffered a setback amid reports that it may have been spread deliberately.

Rumours have circulated for months that unscrupulous farmers have been approaching those in the industry offering infected animals to generate generous compensation claims.

Last week a farmer in Pembrokeshire, west Wales, notified authorities saying she had received a telephone call from someone demanding £2,000 cash in exchange for infecting her animals with the disease.

Nuala Preston, 39, of Trefoel Stud Farm in Newport, said several farmers in the area had received similar offers.

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The virus, which is not passed to humans, affects cloven-hoofed animals such as sheep, cattle, pigs and goats.

British newspapers reported an inquiry was to be launched by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), under the instruction of Agriculture Minister Margaret Beckett.

But Defra issued a statement on Monday that said: "We have been aware for some time of rumours about animals being infected deliberately, or offers to infect animals. However at present we have no real evidence.

"If they are true it would be very serious given the pain and suffering the disease causes and the huge expense put on farmers, the wider rural economy and taxpayers."

The Pembrokeshire case, and one other undisclosed reported case, are being investigated by regional Defra veterinary officers and police, but a wider inquiry has not been ordered.

Opposition agriculture spokesman, Conservative MP Tim Yeo, who was outspoken against the government's handling of the virus during its height before June's general election, told CNN he had not seen any evidence of farmers deliberately trying to spread the disease, but if there was, it would "obviously have to be investigated as part of a full independent inquiry."

Rumours began circulating about deliberate infection in Kent and Cumbria shortly after the outbreak in late February, but all have proven unfounded so far.

New cases of foot-and-mouth continue to be reported every day across the UK -- taking the total of infected cases to 1,902 -- despite more than three-and-a-half million sheep, cattle, pigs and goats being culled and billions of pounds being spent.

It is not only the farming industry that has been hit -- the British tourism industry has been suffering too, with bookings down in some parts of the country by up to 50 percent.

'Alligators in sewers'

CNN European Political Editor Robin Oakley said everybody has heard about the "rural myths" but nobody has proof -- rather like the "urban myth" of alligators in the sewers.

"If people are deliberately infecting their animals, and there is no proof that is the case, it could explain the emergence of new cases in previously clean areas and the continuing presence of the disease."

Farmers can expect to receive a compensation package that includes £90, for example, for a slaughtered ewe -- often more than the current going market rate hit by the crisis.

Preston added: "I was so horrified I slammed the phone down. I was absolutely appalled that anyone should dream of doing that.

"But I think some farmers on the brink of desperation and bankruptcy might be tempted to go for it because at least they would get compensation for their animals."

A spokeswoman for the National Farmers' Union told CNN: "We have heard three to four stories about this happening -- none of which have stood up.

"When efforts have been made to chase up stories no names have been available. We do not know where they are coming from, we are just as bemused."

She added, the NFU expected "the vast majority" of farmers would reject any similar approaches.

"The industry wants to see the back of this disease, anything that keeps its going any longer is a disaster."

Glyn Powell, deputy president of the Farmers' Union of Wales, described the reported Pembrokeshire offer as "evil."

"It causes stress and trauma for farmers and undermines the whole rural community.

"It may be an element of the inexplicable spread of the disease to unexplained quarters."